NEW YEAR'S EVE!

 

Just a few weeks left until New Years...my favorite party of the year.  We will be ringing in 2010 with the music of James and Levi...our favorite jazz swing duo from 7:30 through midnight, and we'll be wearing our favorite party hats...here's a pic of Angus, one of our favorite regulars, wearing one in the background with some of the newly created hats in the foreground.  This year we'll be selling them for $30 and proceeds will be going to the South Whidbey Children's Center...our favorite place for kids.  We'll be offering our regular dinner menu, along with a special champagne and sparkling wine menu, and a late night menu after 10.  We are about 3/4 full, so make a reservation soon!



I asked Colleen Graham, one of the genius minds behind Tuzzie Muzzie to give us a little info on their business...here's what she had to say:

Tuzzie Muzzies are unique party hats with handmade fabric bases embellished with an assortment of feathers, ribbons, sequins and other treasures. Professional Seattle milliners, Mikele Keiffer, and Colleen Graham are the creative minds behind Tuzzie Muzzie.

In addition to creating hats full time, Mikele has a degree in auto mechanics and Colleen teaches art to high school students. Tuzzie Muzzie began in 1998 when a well-known Seattle restaurant asked the milliners to create hats for New Year’s Eve. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that people began calling to ask for party hats. Since then Tuzzie Muzzies have graced the heads of party goers at weddings, showers, birthday parties, anniversaries, benefits, cocktail parties and holiday gatherings.  Tuzzie Muzzie party hats can be found in stores from coast to coast.  

 They’ve also been featured in Seattle Magazine, Seattle Bride, Lucky Magazine and at Teatro Zinzani. Tuzzie Muzzies make any gathering extraordinary…no party is complete without hats!!

3rd Langley Chefs Dinner a Smashing Success

This past Monday we hosted the 3rd Langley Chef's dinner...this time to benefit WAIF, the Whidbey Animal Improvement Foundation.  We raised over $4,000 and had a really great time! I am honestly so honored to be part of such a wonderful and generous group of people.  The spirit in the kitchen at these events is really amazing.  Here's what we served:

Jess Dowdell from Mukilteo Coffee prepared a date stuffed prawn, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled...with a cilantro pesto.  She paired with the Whidbey Island Siegerebbe.

Des Rock from Useless Bay Coffee gave us a soup, salad and squash course, paired with the Whidbey Island Pinot Grigio.

Next we received a roasted black cod with ox tail and wild rice, dry pomegranate juice and brussels sprouts from Matt Costello of the Inn at Langley.  Wine pairing was a Ca' Del Solo Sangiovese.

Donna Leahy from Chef's Pantry served a duck ragu with potato gnocchi, brown butter and white truffle, paired with Louis Changarnier Pinot Noir

We are so lucky to have Dave and Dawn Noble from Fireseed Catering join the group.  They prepared a homemade cracker with quince membrillo and Rivers Edge chevre for our cheese course.  Amantillado Sherry was the pairing for this course.

And for the dessert course, Sieb prepared a napoleon of candy cap mushroom ice cream with bitter caramel sauce with truffled sea salt, and the Warres Ottima 10 year tawny port.



Unfortunately we didn't get a picture, but Mona Newbauer of Island Angel Chocolates donated a last little nibble to everyone...a delicious pistachio cranberry truffle...just to ensure everyone really rolled out of here.

100% of proceeds goes directly to the charities we choose.  We are extremely grateful to live in a community where people are so excited to support our local causes, and where we can find this group of amazingly talented chefs willing to cooperate in this way.  The next dinner should be sometime in March...details coming soon!

GLASSYBABY!

I have always coveted Glassybabies from my first encounter...I have a couple of my own at home and REALLY wanted to get a few in the restaurant...which we now have!  I asked Valerie Waltz, Communications Manager with the company to give me a little background on the company...here's what she had to say:  Glassybaby were born in 1998 when founder Lee Rhodes was in her third round of battle with a rare form of lung cancer. Lee found serenity in a small, tough, colorful glass vessel made by a family member for whom she had purchased glass-blowing lessons as a Christmas gift. When Lee’s recovery progressed, she started making these glass vessels on her own, which she called “glassybaby”. She opened her first glassybaby store and studio in Seattle in 2003. Today, there are 5 retail locations, more than 70 employees and a dedicated legion of followers.  The mission behind the company is to give back to charity and inspire people with her product.

To date, glassybaby has given more than $300,000 to charity, and owner Lee Rhodes’ goal is to earmark 10% of all glassybaby sales to charity by the end of 2010.